Justice: Courts (21st June 2011)
Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress he has made in plans to handle in Stevenage county court cases originating with parties resident in North East Hertfordshireconstituency; and if he will make a statement.
Jonathan Djanogly (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (HM Courts Service and Legal Aid), Justice; Huntingdon, Conservative)
The Government undertook a full consultation exercise last year on their proposals to close a number of court houses, including Hitchin county court. As a result of the responses to the consultation exercise funding has been allocated and invested to upgrade an existing courtroom in Stevenage magistrates court to make it suitable for county court work. Following the closure of Hitchin its work will be shared between Bedford, Luton, Cambridge and Stevenage. It is expected that cases such as repossession will typically be heard in Stevenage, sitting as Luton county court, thereby improving the service provided to court users.
The Lord Chancellor's Direction which sets out how Hitchin county court's district will be divided among other county courts can be found at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/bills-and-acts/directions.htm